The city’s new government relations manager starts work Monday.
While city manager Patrick Draper declined to name the new hire until the person starts work, he did describe the need for a position to look after intergovernmental relations, which was advertised to draw a salary between $100,840 and $122,688.
“This individual will be kept very busy,” Draper said.
Council unanimously approved the position in July when Draper requested that a 2014 budget item to set aside $425,000 in funds for 2014-2016 to support work with the Capital Region Board be repurposed into the intergovernmental relations manager position.
“What we discovered, seven months into the process, was that we couldn’t easily hire a consultant or contract somebody to do this work because there were so many relationships and so many projects, so I asked council with the same money they had already approved to bring in an individual,” Draper said.
Intergovernmental affairs had been part of one employee’s job, but that person also looks after the growing smart city program, Draper said.
The St. Albert municipal government has several relationships with other governments, Draper said.
For example, he described the relationship with Sturgeon County as “fabulous” but work is needed to maintain that.
“There’s a lot of care and feeding required in that,” Draper said.
There are also relationships with the City of Edmonton, the provincial government and the Capital Region Board, along with various task forces and boards the city’s expected to work with.
Draper said the regional board is significantly increasing work.
“Existing staff do not have the time to go to every Capital Region Board meeting, and they meet a lot,” Draper said. So a council representative goes, but staff need to look over the reports and offer advice.
So the intergovernmental relations manager will help prepare briefings, communicate with the other governments, help implement a provincial advocacy strategy and co-ordination and advising tasks, the job description says.
Having a position that has this as its focus – rather than as just one part of a job – will help build the relationships and reputation necessary to move St. Albert’s own agenda along, Draper said.
“They’re very important bridges,” he said.
St. Albert’s not the only regional municipal government to have a such a position. Edmonton has a branch of intergovernmental and external affairs, and Leduc and Strathcona County both have intergovernmental relations positions.
